You hear in “Trout” circles constantly about matching the hatch. I have seen it first hand on stream. The guys I am fish with are constantly rolling over rocks and skimming emerging insects off the surface and adjusting their flies accordingly. Usually I am smiling when I see them doing this. Most of these insects they are collecting are tiny. Tiny in fly fishing is size 22 or 24.
I have seen many fly tying presentations and watched their detailed tying. These guys are true artists with their craft. They are meticulous in their colors and wings. The legs need to be just this way and the finish of the flies need to have this or that type of appearance. I have tried fly tying just once and it was quite frustrating. This being said, fancy and tiny flies don’t do it for me. I typically ignore the hatch.
Most brown trout in my area live between five and eight years. Occasionally you get a grandfather trout that goes over the 10 year mark. This is very rare. When a trout gets to about 15 inches it starts eating more substantial meals. Those midges and scuds that it feasted on a year or two back are not adequate to sustain the trout’s caloric needs. That 15 inch trout becomes a “carnivore” and those tiny insects become appetizers for the true main course.
Those big trout need something large to satisfy that hollow feeling in their stomachs. Those blue winged olives and midges hatching are just fine for the 10 inch and smaller fish. I smile when I see those coming off. I immediately put something big on and go under the tiny trout feeding. I am after the big trout feeding on those tiny trout. The only exception to my not following the hatch rule is the Mayfly hatch. This is a bird of a different feather. Large trout can be caught during a Mayfly Hatch and most big trout ignore any other offerings during this time. They typically gorge on these huge Mayflies and are tuned in on them.
Caught on a black bead headed woolly bugger.
For the rest of the days on the water I recommend two flies. Bead headed wooly buggers in size 10/8/6 in the standard colors and some in a multicolor like black and olive. Maybe throw in a little crystal flash in the body or tail to jazz them up a little. The days they are shunning a bugger you should switch to a weighted San Juan worm in three basic colors. The colors that work best for me are purple, hot pink and red in size 6 and 8. Don’t be shy about using a small split about 10 inches above your San Juan Worm to get it down quickly. San Juan Worms and Buggers are carried by most big box stores and are quite cheap. Don’t forget the strike indicators when you are there. They come in a variety of sizes and colors. The Lindy’s walleye float in the smallest size toothpicked to the line helps you see those subtle bites.
The two flies I listed above are the most simple flies to tie. There are no fancy whip finishes required and no micro sizes to make you go cross eyed while tying them. You can catch trout every day of the week with these flies. The trout you will catch will be above average sizes. Follow my advice if you please or be satisfied with catching 10 inch fish all day.
Caught on a hot pink weighted San Juan Worm under an indicator.
